Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Pledge of Alligance
While waiting for my wheelchair lift to be looked at in Modesto. The owner of the shop sho shoed the two vets out of the main office to the waiting room. They were carrying on a conversation that was just getting too loud for the conduct of business over the phone. One vet was on a wheelchair and had a service dog. The service dog was an older yellow lab. He was proudly showing off his purple heat vest with two handles on it to all that were in the waiting room.
There are times that you know you really should keep your mouth shut and let the public squirm or reveal in their fact-less preconception. But I didn't and so the statements got louder.
First... you have seen a lot of changes in the world since you were little. The Purple heart decorated man agreed. Wasn't it better when you were in school. The students all pledged the flag and sang my country tis of thee?
Old golden lab found a comforting spot and layed down on my feet and leaned up against my legs.
I had to jump in. I have never been working at a school where they didn't do this in some form or another. The pledge was always done. The students and the teachers all stood at attention. They did not always sing My Country Tis of Thee... but I could bet that maybe one of these characters did not sing it every day they were in High School. So I gave them the wisdom of my experience and asked them if they knew of any school in the area that did not do the same. They could not. Even when challenged.
Then I heard the usual crap about our country losing its Christian themes. Another one hard for me to swallow. Maybe if they spent a day or two on a campus they would know the diversity of ethnic origins that the modern day students bring to classes. Then one said a person from the far east said that their religion was the basis for all religions that followed. Again not true and he knew it. If you look at the dates Christianity predates Allah. Its pretty crazy when you hear these untruths.. he had to admit that the following of the Sun was probably the really first religion.
Sadly its this kind of stuff that is getting in the way of a lasting peace in the Isreal/Palestinian issue. There might be some changes as reported in the last couple of days if some trust issues can be solved. Pretty amazing times.
We all backed out of the conversation noting that it was good to talk of people of varying opinions. I am sure that I will be quoted as the wild eyed liberal that was totally out of touch. Maybe I am.
: ) Pat
Friday, July 19, 2013
County Fairs During an Economic Down Turn
It is true. In this year's state budget for California, the county fairs essentially lost their funding. Some counties such as Santa Clara have completely given up on its county fairs. At one time, fairs were supported in large part by horse racing. This sport has hit a new low too and many tracks have closed down. Even some of the ones that make up the fabled triple crown are dragging along financially.
Some counties have off track betting on their fair site. A small building on the Stanislaus County Fair Grounds is devoted to off track betting. Patrons come in and bet on horse races around the country broadcasted to them via video satellite links. It is a small spot compared to the Indian Reservation gambling that builds huge casinos in the foothills.
Its interesting that in Fresno's Fair their entertainment venue is sponsored by the Indian casino. There is a finite number to gambling dollars out there. It seems that that these dollars are finding new places to be rather than at a race track. The race tracks with their loss of patronage cannot afford to subsidize county fairs. The state that over sees the race track gambling and the county fair support in the past from these race tracks.
The state walked away from funding of county fairs this year. There are a number of approaches that counties took to make up for this loss of funding.
Almost all of them gave up their entertainment budgets for big names to appear for concerts. The big names in entertainment were replaced by tribute bands that used to play in the side venues of these fairs. The is a big name or two out there but more than likely the band will be an oldie made up of one or two members of the old named band and a troop of younger replacements. This may speak more to the condition of modern music groups and their need to pay their dues in the lessor venues. The county fair circuit may not be as important of a place than a photo in People or a guest shot on Jimmy Kimble.
Some counties such as Merced elected to keep the prices low and bring in as many people as they could for a much shorter fair. Merced's fair entrance was 5 dollars an adult. Grandstand events were another 5 dollars and it took 5 dollars to get a parking place. More branding was done with local merchants and health companies.
Stanislaus County maintains a much longer fair, charges 12 dollars an adult and 5 dollars to park. Their entertainment was free but the grandstand events, such as tractor pulling and destruction derby ran from 8 dollars to 16.
Both plans seem to work. There were many people attending each of the fairs. There seemed to be a fewer number of commercial booths at the Stanislaus County Fair than usual. The Merced Fair offered some pretty decent tribute bands to Journey and CCR on their main stage. Stanislaus County Fair offered Tower of Power... which always puts on a great show especially if you can hear it from the parking lot.
The kids are always great to see at these fairs. They exhibit unbrindled joy at being at a family friendly venue. The animals are groomed up to the nth dregree and shown off beautifully at these fairs. Nothing changes about that.
At the Merced County Fair I always go for the Eagles lenguisa sandwich, at the Stanislaus County fair its the beef kabob with the fresh tomatoes and Assyrian bread, from the Assyrian club. It comes with rice and a sprinkling of cilantro and green onions. Sue had the chicken.. a tad dry but still great. She is not a fan of cilantro or green onions but oh such a fan of the rice.
We always enjoy the photography and the art.
The flowers are always cool and both fairs did not disappoint.
Great to still have these fairs!
: ) Pat
Some counties have off track betting on their fair site. A small building on the Stanislaus County Fair Grounds is devoted to off track betting. Patrons come in and bet on horse races around the country broadcasted to them via video satellite links. It is a small spot compared to the Indian Reservation gambling that builds huge casinos in the foothills.
Its interesting that in Fresno's Fair their entertainment venue is sponsored by the Indian casino. There is a finite number to gambling dollars out there. It seems that that these dollars are finding new places to be rather than at a race track. The race tracks with their loss of patronage cannot afford to subsidize county fairs. The state that over sees the race track gambling and the county fair support in the past from these race tracks.
The state walked away from funding of county fairs this year. There are a number of approaches that counties took to make up for this loss of funding.
Almost all of them gave up their entertainment budgets for big names to appear for concerts. The big names in entertainment were replaced by tribute bands that used to play in the side venues of these fairs. The is a big name or two out there but more than likely the band will be an oldie made up of one or two members of the old named band and a troop of younger replacements. This may speak more to the condition of modern music groups and their need to pay their dues in the lessor venues. The county fair circuit may not be as important of a place than a photo in People or a guest shot on Jimmy Kimble.
Some counties such as Merced elected to keep the prices low and bring in as many people as they could for a much shorter fair. Merced's fair entrance was 5 dollars an adult. Grandstand events were another 5 dollars and it took 5 dollars to get a parking place. More branding was done with local merchants and health companies.
Stanislaus County maintains a much longer fair, charges 12 dollars an adult and 5 dollars to park. Their entertainment was free but the grandstand events, such as tractor pulling and destruction derby ran from 8 dollars to 16.
Both plans seem to work. There were many people attending each of the fairs. There seemed to be a fewer number of commercial booths at the Stanislaus County Fair than usual. The Merced Fair offered some pretty decent tribute bands to Journey and CCR on their main stage. Stanislaus County Fair offered Tower of Power... which always puts on a great show especially if you can hear it from the parking lot.
The kids are always great to see at these fairs. They exhibit unbrindled joy at being at a family friendly venue. The animals are groomed up to the nth dregree and shown off beautifully at these fairs. Nothing changes about that.
At the Merced County Fair I always go for the Eagles lenguisa sandwich, at the Stanislaus County fair its the beef kabob with the fresh tomatoes and Assyrian bread, from the Assyrian club. It comes with rice and a sprinkling of cilantro and green onions. Sue had the chicken.. a tad dry but still great. She is not a fan of cilantro or green onions but oh such a fan of the rice.
We always enjoy the photography and the art.
The flowers are always cool and both fairs did not disappoint.
Great to still have these fairs!
: ) Pat
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Mother's Circus Animal Cookies
Its sad to have a particular food addiction.
There are just some things at the grocery store I just do not buy. The reason is clear.. I cannot leave them alone until they are gone.
Mothers cookies is the Northern California bakers for frosted circle animal cookies. They are traditionally pink and white and come with sprinkles on top that are often blue. Sounds pretty awful as its written down.
There texture is pure lard. The frosting leaves a coating across the top of the palette that takes a frosty soda like beverage to break down. Its an amazing taste combination and a textural one as well. The crispy animal shaped cookies are enigmatic of an era in the 50's long gone. As you travel through Oakland on BART just past the coliseum, the factory is let up with its characteristic almost Barbie pink circus tent details. The home of "mother's cookies." They highlight the Circus Animal Cookies on their building. I must not be the only one that likes these!
In the grocery store these gems are sold by the bag. They are not neatly stacked within rows of plastic like other members of the Mother's cookie line. They are often sold out. A new variety of the same favorites has made an appearence on the shelves. Its a green jungle animal version. The people at Mother's were clever enough not to change the recipe... so even through they are formed in the green swinging chimpanzees, the result is the same flavor and texture as the original Circus Animals.
I have been recently informed that my addiction to these gems is not singular. My daughter has a "thing" for them too. Does it speak to us genetically?
The biggest indignity ever happened when I was looking for a new variety ice cream to drag home. Our Raley's carries Sunnyside brand ice cream along with others. Sunnyside is their generic like set of dairy products. There in the freezer department was a "Mother's Circus Animal" flavored ice cream. It has some dough like components of pink and white. It has flecks of spinkles, which everyone knows is a flavor all to its own, and there are even a few Mother's Circus Animal Cookies thrown into the mix as whole cookies to be discovered as unexpected treasure. It is totally successful as an ice cream flavor.
So.. watch out for the Mother's Circus Animal flavors headed to a cookie counter or a ice cream freezer near you!!
: ) Pat
There are just some things at the grocery store I just do not buy. The reason is clear.. I cannot leave them alone until they are gone.
Mothers cookies is the Northern California bakers for frosted circle animal cookies. They are traditionally pink and white and come with sprinkles on top that are often blue. Sounds pretty awful as its written down.
There texture is pure lard. The frosting leaves a coating across the top of the palette that takes a frosty soda like beverage to break down. Its an amazing taste combination and a textural one as well. The crispy animal shaped cookies are enigmatic of an era in the 50's long gone. As you travel through Oakland on BART just past the coliseum, the factory is let up with its characteristic almost Barbie pink circus tent details. The home of "mother's cookies." They highlight the Circus Animal Cookies on their building. I must not be the only one that likes these!
In the grocery store these gems are sold by the bag. They are not neatly stacked within rows of plastic like other members of the Mother's cookie line. They are often sold out. A new variety of the same favorites has made an appearence on the shelves. Its a green jungle animal version. The people at Mother's were clever enough not to change the recipe... so even through they are formed in the green swinging chimpanzees, the result is the same flavor and texture as the original Circus Animals.
I have been recently informed that my addiction to these gems is not singular. My daughter has a "thing" for them too. Does it speak to us genetically?
The biggest indignity ever happened when I was looking for a new variety ice cream to drag home. Our Raley's carries Sunnyside brand ice cream along with others. Sunnyside is their generic like set of dairy products. There in the freezer department was a "Mother's Circus Animal" flavored ice cream. It has some dough like components of pink and white. It has flecks of spinkles, which everyone knows is a flavor all to its own, and there are even a few Mother's Circus Animal Cookies thrown into the mix as whole cookies to be discovered as unexpected treasure. It is totally successful as an ice cream flavor.
So.. watch out for the Mother's Circus Animal flavors headed to a cookie counter or a ice cream freezer near you!!
: ) Pat
Computerless but now restored!
Early last week (Monday) I left my computer for a few minutes. As usual it went through the usual screen savers and eventually went to sleep.
I mean really sleep.. the power board in the computer died. No smoke, no crazy sound.. my power board died in its sleep deep within the hard of this thin computer.
When I arrived back at the desktop to imput in a great story and edit some great photos... nothing happened.. no sound, it was dead.
I plugged it into other outlets in the house that I knew were active and alive.. still no progress. No response. I knew from past experience that it was probably a power board. There was no crazy in appropriate behavior occuring in my computing experience.. so from past experience I concluded it probably wasn't the logic board.
The next morning I took off at the crack of dawn.. about 6:45 to get a new powerboard at the closest Apple store around.. Vintage Fair Mall in Modesto. Its about 45 miles from my home in Merced. It is on the dreaded 99 freeway corridor but still just shy of an hour away all the time careful driving is required to dodge the trucks that ply this artery for their livelihood. If you want to know if the economy is getting better drive our freeways. As the economy gets better, more big trucks are require to move the raw materials and finished goods. I arrived in Modest well before 8 am and noticed that the Apple store was in moth balls. Some cheezy Frank Sinatra music was playing above the outdoor fountain that aperiodically spouts streams of water into the air. Outside the Apple store was a sign that claimed to be having in inservice and planned to be open at 10:00.
Just as wel, I thought, l as I was hungry and needed a coffee shop breakfast. I traveled around the perimeter of the shopping center and crossed over the freeway to the Plendale and the Denny's restaurant that was located there. As I took my time eating a pancake or two I suddenly got the idea that it might make sense to reserve a spot at the genius bar before I got here. Using the Iphone, I used my Sarfari browser to get to the support spot for a genius bar reservation. It showed the only appointments available were after lunch. I signed up the 12:15. I thought that maybe since this was a repair I would not need a genius bar appointment anyway. I arrived back at the store at 9:30 and a customer rep in a bue shirt asked me what I needed or if they could be of help. I explained my situation and was told that I indeed needed a reservation and I was moved up to 10:15. I asked if I could move my computer into the store until that time...no.. bring it in at 10:15. I became a Mall walker as I walked from one side to the other of the mall and timed it so that when I walked back out to the car I would be close to the 10:15 of my target.
I arrived with by 21inch IMac under arms and after a quick plug at the genius bar they concluded just as I,, that a new powerboard was needed. The guy sitting next to me was also named Patrick and he had a similar issue. The genius bar guy asked if we could share him. I said sure and he said sure. As it turned out, his issue with the fullsized Mac Pro was more involved than mine. He had replaced his video card before and he had a screen but nothing on the screen. His fix it estimate as about 530 dollars. Mine was 106.
In the mean time, another Apple employee had taken over mine and was doing the paperwork for mine to be fixed. He said that it would probably take a couple of days to get the part and it would take a day or two to get it into the line up to get the actual work done. It was to cost 106.
I got an email on Thursday at 4:40 that my mac was ready to pick up. I made some plans to go get it. This time Sue was on board to do her Thrift shop survey on the same trip.
We took off on Friday around 11:00 and I showed my ID (required) and walked out the door after 116 in payment for a new life added to my computer. We did the Goodwill survey in Modesto which included a trip to the dollar store. I had a great lamb kabob meal across the street and we headed home in the 97 dregree heat.. much better than it had been lately.
As you can see the computer is up and cranking and I am able to do this kind of blog entry. This would be much harder to do with the phone and or the Ipad.
The Ipad tech thanked me for my patience on the way out the door.
Life is good
: ) PAT
I mean really sleep.. the power board in the computer died. No smoke, no crazy sound.. my power board died in its sleep deep within the hard of this thin computer.
When I arrived back at the desktop to imput in a great story and edit some great photos... nothing happened.. no sound, it was dead.
I plugged it into other outlets in the house that I knew were active and alive.. still no progress. No response. I knew from past experience that it was probably a power board. There was no crazy in appropriate behavior occuring in my computing experience.. so from past experience I concluded it probably wasn't the logic board.
The next morning I took off at the crack of dawn.. about 6:45 to get a new powerboard at the closest Apple store around.. Vintage Fair Mall in Modesto. Its about 45 miles from my home in Merced. It is on the dreaded 99 freeway corridor but still just shy of an hour away all the time careful driving is required to dodge the trucks that ply this artery for their livelihood. If you want to know if the economy is getting better drive our freeways. As the economy gets better, more big trucks are require to move the raw materials and finished goods. I arrived in Modest well before 8 am and noticed that the Apple store was in moth balls. Some cheezy Frank Sinatra music was playing above the outdoor fountain that aperiodically spouts streams of water into the air. Outside the Apple store was a sign that claimed to be having in inservice and planned to be open at 10:00.
Just as wel, I thought, l as I was hungry and needed a coffee shop breakfast. I traveled around the perimeter of the shopping center and crossed over the freeway to the Plendale and the Denny's restaurant that was located there. As I took my time eating a pancake or two I suddenly got the idea that it might make sense to reserve a spot at the genius bar before I got here. Using the Iphone, I used my Sarfari browser to get to the support spot for a genius bar reservation. It showed the only appointments available were after lunch. I signed up the 12:15. I thought that maybe since this was a repair I would not need a genius bar appointment anyway. I arrived back at the store at 9:30 and a customer rep in a bue shirt asked me what I needed or if they could be of help. I explained my situation and was told that I indeed needed a reservation and I was moved up to 10:15. I asked if I could move my computer into the store until that time...no.. bring it in at 10:15. I became a Mall walker as I walked from one side to the other of the mall and timed it so that when I walked back out to the car I would be close to the 10:15 of my target.
I arrived with by 21inch IMac under arms and after a quick plug at the genius bar they concluded just as I,, that a new powerboard was needed. The guy sitting next to me was also named Patrick and he had a similar issue. The genius bar guy asked if we could share him. I said sure and he said sure. As it turned out, his issue with the fullsized Mac Pro was more involved than mine. He had replaced his video card before and he had a screen but nothing on the screen. His fix it estimate as about 530 dollars. Mine was 106.
In the mean time, another Apple employee had taken over mine and was doing the paperwork for mine to be fixed. He said that it would probably take a couple of days to get the part and it would take a day or two to get it into the line up to get the actual work done. It was to cost 106.
I got an email on Thursday at 4:40 that my mac was ready to pick up. I made some plans to go get it. This time Sue was on board to do her Thrift shop survey on the same trip.
We took off on Friday around 11:00 and I showed my ID (required) and walked out the door after 116 in payment for a new life added to my computer. We did the Goodwill survey in Modesto which included a trip to the dollar store. I had a great lamb kabob meal across the street and we headed home in the 97 dregree heat.. much better than it had been lately.
As you can see the computer is up and cranking and I am able to do this kind of blog entry. This would be much harder to do with the phone and or the Ipad.
The Ipad tech thanked me for my patience on the way out the door.
Life is good
: ) PAT
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Electronic Subscription
One of the most remarkable benefits of Ipad ownership is the ability to get your print subscriptions in electronic form.
Print Mags have Free Electronic Versions for their Subscribers
Time magazine is always with you whenever your with my Ipad. After jumping through the hoops of print subscription verification, the latest issue is downloaded to the Ipad and available. The publishers have included the electronic subscription into the cost of the print one. One week last month the Time magazine did not come in the mailbox. It never came in print form. I didn't miss an issue as I had downloaded it and could read each page including all the advertisements.
Sue loves her People subscription. It comes each Thursday. The electronic download through the web to the Ipad comes at the same time. It is often delayed through the post office.
Last night I tapped into Sunset magazine's electronic subscription. It was a little harder to substantiate my print subscription because it needed the code from the mailing label. My magazine had come in a plastic bag. After putting in my complete address, and my email address their side validated my subscription.
Electronic Versions bring added Benefits
The electronic subscription offers many benefits that the print subscription does not. There are always added features to the electronic version that are not in the print version. Electronic ink is much cheaper than print ink, so each of these subscriptions can and do offer more depth in feature articles. Some are pretty amazing.
Time
In a recent Time magazine when the cover is selected by the viewer, the whole screen shakes and you hear this sound of the hurricane as it approaches.
Time has video bonus coverage throughout its issues. As you read the articles the reader can touch the blocks and interviews with news makers referenced in the article download and play. The electronic version my be read in the similar way the print version works as well. Some of the sidebars on the articles are pretty interesting. In the print version these areas as shaded side articles that relate the the main article. In the electronic version, these open up and become as big as the full page they often accompany.
People
People magazine is full of these additions. Extra red carpet, fashion coverage is always added to the big events with People's electronic subscription. I find the last page on each People electronic magazine interesting. It is a breakout of 8 cover shots of their magazine through the years. Represented as dots with the number in them, the reader can travel back to see what was presented last year on the cover, 5 years, 10 years and 15 and 20 years ago. The covers are revealing in how the magazine and its readership has changed over the years. People magazine has some additional interviews that are available directly from the their pages to the Ipads that you would view them on on.
Sunset
My latest electronic magazine download is Sunset. It is beautiful on the retina display. I like that it is also included free with the print subscription.
The main benefit for the reader is the collection of all the versions into the electronic version. Sunset prints about 5 different versions of its magazine each month. Southern California sees a very different version that Northern California. There are different gardening tips and different recipes and comments as to places that you may visit in the region. I once picked up a Sunset at my local Costco before I had a print subscription. It was the Southern California version. The gardening was all off and the restaurant reviews were for So Cal places. This would be okay if I were not looking for Nor Cal stuff. The electronic version bridges this gap and clearly points out in the gardening section which is written for which area... the articles are from all of the versions even one it appears to be from Alaska. So Sunset is a beautiful magazine in all its flavors. The electronic reader has the benefit of seeing all of it.
Have a great Day..
: ) Pat
Print Mags have Free Electronic Versions for their Subscribers
Time magazine is always with you whenever your with my Ipad. After jumping through the hoops of print subscription verification, the latest issue is downloaded to the Ipad and available. The publishers have included the electronic subscription into the cost of the print one. One week last month the Time magazine did not come in the mailbox. It never came in print form. I didn't miss an issue as I had downloaded it and could read each page including all the advertisements.
Sue loves her People subscription. It comes each Thursday. The electronic download through the web to the Ipad comes at the same time. It is often delayed through the post office.
Last night I tapped into Sunset magazine's electronic subscription. It was a little harder to substantiate my print subscription because it needed the code from the mailing label. My magazine had come in a plastic bag. After putting in my complete address, and my email address their side validated my subscription.
Electronic Versions bring added Benefits
The electronic subscription offers many benefits that the print subscription does not. There are always added features to the electronic version that are not in the print version. Electronic ink is much cheaper than print ink, so each of these subscriptions can and do offer more depth in feature articles. Some are pretty amazing.
Time
In a recent Time magazine when the cover is selected by the viewer, the whole screen shakes and you hear this sound of the hurricane as it approaches.
Time has video bonus coverage throughout its issues. As you read the articles the reader can touch the blocks and interviews with news makers referenced in the article download and play. The electronic version my be read in the similar way the print version works as well. Some of the sidebars on the articles are pretty interesting. In the print version these areas as shaded side articles that relate the the main article. In the electronic version, these open up and become as big as the full page they often accompany.
People
People magazine is full of these additions. Extra red carpet, fashion coverage is always added to the big events with People's electronic subscription. I find the last page on each People electronic magazine interesting. It is a breakout of 8 cover shots of their magazine through the years. Represented as dots with the number in them, the reader can travel back to see what was presented last year on the cover, 5 years, 10 years and 15 and 20 years ago. The covers are revealing in how the magazine and its readership has changed over the years. People magazine has some additional interviews that are available directly from the their pages to the Ipads that you would view them on on.
Sunset
My latest electronic magazine download is Sunset. It is beautiful on the retina display. I like that it is also included free with the print subscription.
The main benefit for the reader is the collection of all the versions into the electronic version. Sunset prints about 5 different versions of its magazine each month. Southern California sees a very different version that Northern California. There are different gardening tips and different recipes and comments as to places that you may visit in the region. I once picked up a Sunset at my local Costco before I had a print subscription. It was the Southern California version. The gardening was all off and the restaurant reviews were for So Cal places. This would be okay if I were not looking for Nor Cal stuff. The electronic version bridges this gap and clearly points out in the gardening section which is written for which area... the articles are from all of the versions even one it appears to be from Alaska. So Sunset is a beautiful magazine in all its flavors. The electronic reader has the benefit of seeing all of it.
Have a great Day..
: ) Pat
Monday, July 8, 2013
Post 4th of July 2013
The 4th of July... the middle of the Summer?
I used to think that the 4rth of July marked the middle of the summer. It really doesn't. It is just one month into the Summer if you are going to school or teaching school. The middle of the Summer break occurs around the middle of July.
There are some exceptions. School sometimes around here is out around the first week of June and it starts back soon after the middle of August.
While going to school, in the Bay area, in the 50's and 60's school was out around Memorial Day or a little after and never started back until after labor day... September.
As a retired old F_ _ _ T we plan around the kids going to school instead of when they are out. As teachers we would always plan when the kids were out and we were out rather than the reciprocal. So now we are planning a Disney trip for September when the kids are back in school.
The summer heats up here to the triple digits usually in July. This year we didn't have to wait, and the tripple digits, temperatures that are over 100 made their presence known in June.
This resulted in early apricot ripening. In many years, the Tilton apricot tree is just starting to produce ripe apricots on July4th. This year it is near the end of the crop and some of the apricots got "baked" on the tree. Its been pretty hot and the well functioning air conditioner is fabulous for keeping us 78 degrees every day and night despite the 108 to 111 degree heat.
Annual Front Yard Tera Cotta Garden
This year I was a little late getting the front garden annuals in pots started so no petunias planted.. they are pretty much gone in a normal year around here by the 4th of July. So on a "hot" year.. it doesn't make sense to plant them. In their place are the beautiful bicolor marigolds. They are bright orange for the majority of the blossom but have some highlighted red brick colored petals on the inside. These pots take a beating in the summer heat. The really big pots do much better than the smaller ones even when all the pots are watered each day.
The nectarines in the front produced nicely this year. They are pretty fragile and don't stay well on the tree. I passed out as many as I could while they were ripe to neighbors and a few to my postman.
Today it is Monday.. and no lawns should be watered. Our city has imposed a watering schedule for landscape watering. We are supposed to water on every other day... in the morning. My annual flowers have to have it everyday. I stand over them and make sure there is no run off. They are a true delight on the North front entrance patio. From the street you would not no this secret garden exists.
The Round Robin Sketchbook Project
The round robin art project has started this summer and most people in the round robin have received their sketchbooks and have sent or are about to send their first rounds to their partners. We picked up the Lindsay to Sue's this weekend. Linz's is unthemed but has a couple of nice drawings in them. Sue is about to produce her first one... birds and will get it out soon. I have done a prilimary planning one to more the one I received from Kelly on. The message from Camie is that hers is ready to ship this week... so it looks like the arms of the spider through the mail are ready to pounce the priority mail sacks. 7 people in the family have agreed to be a part of this adventure. The most I have heard of that have tried this is 4 and most of them did them on a single sketchbook. So we are really bumping up the curve.
: ) Pat
I used to think that the 4rth of July marked the middle of the summer. It really doesn't. It is just one month into the Summer if you are going to school or teaching school. The middle of the Summer break occurs around the middle of July.
There are some exceptions. School sometimes around here is out around the first week of June and it starts back soon after the middle of August.
While going to school, in the Bay area, in the 50's and 60's school was out around Memorial Day or a little after and never started back until after labor day... September.
As a retired old F_ _ _ T we plan around the kids going to school instead of when they are out. As teachers we would always plan when the kids were out and we were out rather than the reciprocal. So now we are planning a Disney trip for September when the kids are back in school.
The summer heats up here to the triple digits usually in July. This year we didn't have to wait, and the tripple digits, temperatures that are over 100 made their presence known in June.
This resulted in early apricot ripening. In many years, the Tilton apricot tree is just starting to produce ripe apricots on July4th. This year it is near the end of the crop and some of the apricots got "baked" on the tree. Its been pretty hot and the well functioning air conditioner is fabulous for keeping us 78 degrees every day and night despite the 108 to 111 degree heat.
Annual Front Yard Tera Cotta Garden
This year I was a little late getting the front garden annuals in pots started so no petunias planted.. they are pretty much gone in a normal year around here by the 4th of July. So on a "hot" year.. it doesn't make sense to plant them. In their place are the beautiful bicolor marigolds. They are bright orange for the majority of the blossom but have some highlighted red brick colored petals on the inside. These pots take a beating in the summer heat. The really big pots do much better than the smaller ones even when all the pots are watered each day.
The nectarines in the front produced nicely this year. They are pretty fragile and don't stay well on the tree. I passed out as many as I could while they were ripe to neighbors and a few to my postman.
Today it is Monday.. and no lawns should be watered. Our city has imposed a watering schedule for landscape watering. We are supposed to water on every other day... in the morning. My annual flowers have to have it everyday. I stand over them and make sure there is no run off. They are a true delight on the North front entrance patio. From the street you would not no this secret garden exists.
The Round Robin Sketchbook Project
The round robin art project has started this summer and most people in the round robin have received their sketchbooks and have sent or are about to send their first rounds to their partners. We picked up the Lindsay to Sue's this weekend. Linz's is unthemed but has a couple of nice drawings in them. Sue is about to produce her first one... birds and will get it out soon. I have done a prilimary planning one to more the one I received from Kelly on. The message from Camie is that hers is ready to ship this week... so it looks like the arms of the spider through the mail are ready to pounce the priority mail sacks. 7 people in the family have agreed to be a part of this adventure. The most I have heard of that have tried this is 4 and most of them did them on a single sketchbook. So we are really bumping up the curve.
: ) Pat
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Health Care Costs in Grand Junction
This article comes from the Grand Junction Sentinel. I am sure there are such discrepancies within many two hospital cities. Those that are for a more market approach to healthcare may note that the reasons why one hospital charges so much more for the same care really don't stand up for scrutiny. Mercy can charge more because they can charge more. Thought you might enjoy this bit of knowledge from Western Colorado.
St. Mary’s Hospital and Community Hospital in Grand Junction are
barely a three-minute drive from each other, but the two are far apart
when it comes to what they charge patients.
Medical costs at St. Mary’s are almost always more expensive than those over at Community, and in some cases twice as high, according to a federal database on hospital costs.
While the two hospitals, and others in the region, are still cheaper than most parts of the state, St. Mary’s costs were higher in 18 of 19 diagnoses in what hospitals charge Medicaid and Medicare patients, according to a federal database maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Dan Prinster, St. Mary’s vice president of business development, acknowledged those numbers as accurate, but said a true comparison of the two hospitals isn’t that simple.
“If you have a patient who has additional complications, they’re going to come here before they go there (to Community),” he said. “We’re at a different level as a facility. We offer many more services that they don’t.”
While patients may get comparable care at both facilities for certain procedures and treatments, the two hospitals really can’t be compared because there is a limited list of conditions the two facilities have in common that they treat, Prinster said.
St. Mary’s has services and staff that Community doesn’t, so its expenses are naturally higher, he said.
Furthermore, Community has made a conscious effort to keep its charges low, a philosophy that eventually will hurt them, Prinster said.
“I know from having looked at charge data that Community has made the decision over several years that they’re not going to raise rates in certain areas,” he said. “Our board has made the decision over the years that given cost increases for medical equipment, for pharmaceuticals, for staff and other things, is that we have to — from a fiduciary standpoint — ... adjust our rates on an annual basis. That accounts for some of the price differences.”
Chris Thomas, president and chief executive officer at Community, agreed that the two hospitals are different when it comes to the services they offer, but he said Prinster doesn’t have a clue what drives his charges.
He said St. Mary’s costs are higher simply because it can get away with charging more.
“A big part of this is, when little Community Hospital sits down with the insurance companies and says, ‘Boy, I’d like to get paid more,’ the insurance companies say, ‘Yeah, Chris. No thanks,’ and I say, ‘Okay,’” Thomas said. “But when St. Mary’s, who has 85 percent of the market share, goes in and says, ‘I’d like to get paid this,’ they get it. I’m limited in most of my (insurance) contracts to not be able to increase my charges more than 6 percent a year. St. Mary’s doesn’t have those kind of restrictions.”
As a result, the difference in costs continues to widen, he said.
According to the Medicare cost database, St. Mary’s charges more than $46,000, for example, to treat a blood infection such as septicemia, but Community Hospital charges only about $21,000 to treat that same illness.
Dr. Donald Nicolay, chief medical officer at Community, said the only thing that is different in the treatment of that infection between the two hospitals is what patients would be charged.
Prinster, however, said cost considerations don’t stop there. When complications develop while treating such life-threatening conditions as septicemia, patients prefer to be at a hospital that has more services, and can more quickly deal with unexpected situations.
Oftentimes, Community Hospital patients end up being transferred to St. Mary’s because it doesn’t have the wherewithal to treat those who develop complications, he said.
Prinster points out that when there are no complications, the cost between St. Mary’s and Community is nearly identical.
Indeed, the database bears that out, showing St. Mary’s cost to be $27,158, and Community’s charge at $27,058. Charges for that condition, without complications, at Delta and Montrose are even cheaper, at $17,303 and $14,954, respectively.
Still, the Colorado Center on Law & Policy, a left-leaning group that advocates for affordable health care and responsible government spending that has studied hospital charges, says there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why costs for the same procedures vary so widely across the state.
In a recent study of those charges, the center found that hospital costs can range from 43 percent higher than the statewide median to 57 percent lower.
Community Hospital, Delta County Memorial Hospital and Montrose Memorial Hospital were among the bottom five charging the least of all major hospitals in the state, with Montrose and Delta coming in second and third to last, respectively.
St. Mary’s, however, ranked closer to the middle, at about 19 percent below the state average.
With the exception of Denver Health, which charges about as much as St. Mary’s, all other Denver-area hospitals listed charges that were, on average, 25 percent higher than the state median, with some as high as 43 percent over that baseline.
Prinster said that’s why it’s better to compare St. Mary’s with hospitals located elsewhere in the state, such as Fort Collins, Boulder or Pueblo.
When compared to those facilities, St. Mary’s costs are more often than not much lower, and that’s by design.
“What we don’t want to do is force people to go to Denver to get cheaper care,” he said. “Every year when we do that (cost) analysis, we look at how our rates compare to similar hospitals, and on average we’re 10 to 15 percent below them. So, with our rate increases, we’re still below them. What’s fascinating is, we raise our rates, and they do, too, and some of them raise them even more.”
Both St. Mary’s and Community are in the midst of major construction projects to expand their facilities.
St. Mary’s, which opened its new $276 million 12-story building in 2010, is spending another $40 million to complete construction on the four top floors, two of which will become the new home to its rehab and surgical units.
Meanwhile, Community is building a whole new hospital and medical office building for about $73 million.
# # #
HOSPITAL COSTS
Here’s a list of 41 charges of common ailments treated at regional hospitals, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Blood infection with a major complication:
• Community Hospital: $20,910.46
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $46,268.97
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $24,270.38
Fluid accumulation in the lungs and respiratory failure:
• Community Hospital: $18,812.58
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $39,572.48
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with a major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $20,283.08
• Community Hospital: $17,501.39
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $28,461.46
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $14,539.19
Pneumonia and lung inflammation with a major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $24,681.69
• Community Hospital: $24,361.82
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $34,133.83
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $17,892.29
Heart failure and shock with a major complication:
• Community Hospital: $14,361.91
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $28,228.12
Major small and large bowel procedures with complication:
• Community Hospital: $36,950.88
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $49,988.05
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $16,416.65
• Community Hospital: $16,959.93
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $23,603.48
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $14,115.83
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease without complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $11,723.56
• Community Hospital: $15,416.09
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $16,533.21
• Montrose Memorial Hospital:$9,141.40
Pneumonia and lung inflammation with a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $17,302.14
• Community Hospital: $17,223.78
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $23,314
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $11,244.70
Pneumonia and lung inflammation without a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $9,809.72
• Community Hospital: $12,720.14
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $18,100.51
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $9,680.86
Heart failure and shock with a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $10,830.43
• Community Hospital: $16,268
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $22,092.77
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $12,705.17
Stroke or bleeding within the skull with a complication:
• Community Hospital: $19,931.47
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $24,025.42
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $12,592
Blood infection without a major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $17,303.91
• Community Hospital: $27,058
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $27,158.90
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $14,954.40
Inflammation of the esophagus, gastrointestinal tract or other major digestive disorders without major complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $10,339.65
• Community Hospital: $13,953.12
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $16,699.77
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $8,590.93
Skin or connective tissue inflammation:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $8,544.95
• Community Hospital: $11,641.08
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $21,005.58
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $11,164.12
Miscellaneous disorders of nutrition, metabolism, fluids and electrolytes without major complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $8,597.86
• Community Hospital: $11,695.88
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $13,354.75
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $11,812.36
Hip and femur procedures not including major joint replacement with complications:
• Community Hospital: $28,152.73
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $36,832.12
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $27,593.74
Major joint replacement or reattachment of lower limb without major complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $31,814.80
• Community Hospital: $37,524.77
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $34,378.06
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $31,441.26
Kidney and urinary tract infections without major complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $10,958.25
• Community Hospital: $10,073.53
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $14,433.41
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $11,141.69
Heart pacemaker with a complication:
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $34,939
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $64,094.60
Stroke or bleeding within the skull without a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $12,147.29
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $22,598.36
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $9,385.70
Short term loss of blood flow to the nervous system:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $8,854.87
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $16,546.46
Seizures without a major complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $19,283.85
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $7,573
Blockage of an artery of the lung without a major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $14,768.68
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $23,736.04
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $13,054.44
Permanent heart pacemaker:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $64,094.60
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $34,939
Perc cardiovascular procedure with a drug eluting stent without a major complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $45,519.17
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $34,859.20
Perc cardiovascular procedure with a non-drug eluting stent without a major complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $45,493.55
• Montrose Memorial Hospital:$34,072.92
Heart failure and shock without a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $7,911.91
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $15,955.39
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $7,594.50
Heart arrhythmia and conduction disorders with a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $13,749.77
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $23,247.50
• Montrose Memorial Hospital:$13,753.24
Heart arrhythmia and conduction disorders without a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $6,109.94
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $11,970.62
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $8,613.79
Fainting and collapse:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $7,344
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $16,640.82
Chest pain:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $5,345.43
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $12,033.37
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $7,877.40
Major small and large bowel procedures with major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $69,319.75
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $105,751.25
Gastrointestinal hemorrhage with complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $20,359.18
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $13,632.23
Gastrointestinal hemorrhage without complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $13,628.12
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $14,011.36
Gastrointestinal obstruction with complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $16,624.83
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $21,347.64
Gastrointestinal obstruction without complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $9,029.35
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $12,163.70
Minimally invasive removal of the gall bladder without complications:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $25,684.89
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $19,444.82
Fractures of the hip and pelvis without complications:
\• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $13,324.25
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $14,299.92
Medical back problems without major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $10,025.12
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $18,586.62
Signs and symptoms without complications without major complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $19,006.70
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $7,925.31
Discrepancy in local medical costs can cause sticker shock
Procedures at St. Mary's can be twice as high as Community Hospital, but context is key
Anesthesia technician Fran Duke, right, puts clean sheets on
the bed as surgical staff member Kristin Bentley works at the new
anesthesia machine as they prepare one of the operating rooms for
surgery at Community Hospital.
Medical costs at St. Mary’s are almost always more expensive than those over at Community, and in some cases twice as high, according to a federal database on hospital costs.
While the two hospitals, and others in the region, are still cheaper than most parts of the state, St. Mary’s costs were higher in 18 of 19 diagnoses in what hospitals charge Medicaid and Medicare patients, according to a federal database maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Dan Prinster, St. Mary’s vice president of business development, acknowledged those numbers as accurate, but said a true comparison of the two hospitals isn’t that simple.
“If you have a patient who has additional complications, they’re going to come here before they go there (to Community),” he said. “We’re at a different level as a facility. We offer many more services that they don’t.”
While patients may get comparable care at both facilities for certain procedures and treatments, the two hospitals really can’t be compared because there is a limited list of conditions the two facilities have in common that they treat, Prinster said.
St. Mary’s has services and staff that Community doesn’t, so its expenses are naturally higher, he said.
Furthermore, Community has made a conscious effort to keep its charges low, a philosophy that eventually will hurt them, Prinster said.
“I know from having looked at charge data that Community has made the decision over several years that they’re not going to raise rates in certain areas,” he said. “Our board has made the decision over the years that given cost increases for medical equipment, for pharmaceuticals, for staff and other things, is that we have to — from a fiduciary standpoint — ... adjust our rates on an annual basis. That accounts for some of the price differences.”
Chris Thomas, president and chief executive officer at Community, agreed that the two hospitals are different when it comes to the services they offer, but he said Prinster doesn’t have a clue what drives his charges.
He said St. Mary’s costs are higher simply because it can get away with charging more.
“A big part of this is, when little Community Hospital sits down with the insurance companies and says, ‘Boy, I’d like to get paid more,’ the insurance companies say, ‘Yeah, Chris. No thanks,’ and I say, ‘Okay,’” Thomas said. “But when St. Mary’s, who has 85 percent of the market share, goes in and says, ‘I’d like to get paid this,’ they get it. I’m limited in most of my (insurance) contracts to not be able to increase my charges more than 6 percent a year. St. Mary’s doesn’t have those kind of restrictions.”
As a result, the difference in costs continues to widen, he said.
According to the Medicare cost database, St. Mary’s charges more than $46,000, for example, to treat a blood infection such as septicemia, but Community Hospital charges only about $21,000 to treat that same illness.
Dr. Donald Nicolay, chief medical officer at Community, said the only thing that is different in the treatment of that infection between the two hospitals is what patients would be charged.
Prinster, however, said cost considerations don’t stop there. When complications develop while treating such life-threatening conditions as septicemia, patients prefer to be at a hospital that has more services, and can more quickly deal with unexpected situations.
Oftentimes, Community Hospital patients end up being transferred to St. Mary’s because it doesn’t have the wherewithal to treat those who develop complications, he said.
Prinster points out that when there are no complications, the cost between St. Mary’s and Community is nearly identical.
Indeed, the database bears that out, showing St. Mary’s cost to be $27,158, and Community’s charge at $27,058. Charges for that condition, without complications, at Delta and Montrose are even cheaper, at $17,303 and $14,954, respectively.
Still, the Colorado Center on Law & Policy, a left-leaning group that advocates for affordable health care and responsible government spending that has studied hospital charges, says there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why costs for the same procedures vary so widely across the state.
In a recent study of those charges, the center found that hospital costs can range from 43 percent higher than the statewide median to 57 percent lower.
Community Hospital, Delta County Memorial Hospital and Montrose Memorial Hospital were among the bottom five charging the least of all major hospitals in the state, with Montrose and Delta coming in second and third to last, respectively.
St. Mary’s, however, ranked closer to the middle, at about 19 percent below the state average.
With the exception of Denver Health, which charges about as much as St. Mary’s, all other Denver-area hospitals listed charges that were, on average, 25 percent higher than the state median, with some as high as 43 percent over that baseline.
Prinster said that’s why it’s better to compare St. Mary’s with hospitals located elsewhere in the state, such as Fort Collins, Boulder or Pueblo.
When compared to those facilities, St. Mary’s costs are more often than not much lower, and that’s by design.
“What we don’t want to do is force people to go to Denver to get cheaper care,” he said. “Every year when we do that (cost) analysis, we look at how our rates compare to similar hospitals, and on average we’re 10 to 15 percent below them. So, with our rate increases, we’re still below them. What’s fascinating is, we raise our rates, and they do, too, and some of them raise them even more.”
Both St. Mary’s and Community are in the midst of major construction projects to expand their facilities.
St. Mary’s, which opened its new $276 million 12-story building in 2010, is spending another $40 million to complete construction on the four top floors, two of which will become the new home to its rehab and surgical units.
Meanwhile, Community is building a whole new hospital and medical office building for about $73 million.
# # #
HOSPITAL COSTS
Here’s a list of 41 charges of common ailments treated at regional hospitals, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Blood infection with a major complication:
• Community Hospital: $20,910.46
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $46,268.97
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $24,270.38
Fluid accumulation in the lungs and respiratory failure:
• Community Hospital: $18,812.58
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $39,572.48
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with a major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $20,283.08
• Community Hospital: $17,501.39
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $28,461.46
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $14,539.19
Pneumonia and lung inflammation with a major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $24,681.69
• Community Hospital: $24,361.82
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $34,133.83
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $17,892.29
Heart failure and shock with a major complication:
• Community Hospital: $14,361.91
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $28,228.12
Major small and large bowel procedures with complication:
• Community Hospital: $36,950.88
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $49,988.05
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $16,416.65
• Community Hospital: $16,959.93
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $23,603.48
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $14,115.83
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease without complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $11,723.56
• Community Hospital: $15,416.09
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $16,533.21
• Montrose Memorial Hospital:$9,141.40
Pneumonia and lung inflammation with a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $17,302.14
• Community Hospital: $17,223.78
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $23,314
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $11,244.70
Pneumonia and lung inflammation without a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $9,809.72
• Community Hospital: $12,720.14
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $18,100.51
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $9,680.86
Heart failure and shock with a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $10,830.43
• Community Hospital: $16,268
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $22,092.77
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $12,705.17
Stroke or bleeding within the skull with a complication:
• Community Hospital: $19,931.47
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $24,025.42
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $12,592
Blood infection without a major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $17,303.91
• Community Hospital: $27,058
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $27,158.90
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $14,954.40
Inflammation of the esophagus, gastrointestinal tract or other major digestive disorders without major complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $10,339.65
• Community Hospital: $13,953.12
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $16,699.77
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $8,590.93
Skin or connective tissue inflammation:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $8,544.95
• Community Hospital: $11,641.08
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $21,005.58
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $11,164.12
Miscellaneous disorders of nutrition, metabolism, fluids and electrolytes without major complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $8,597.86
• Community Hospital: $11,695.88
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $13,354.75
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $11,812.36
Hip and femur procedures not including major joint replacement with complications:
• Community Hospital: $28,152.73
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $36,832.12
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $27,593.74
Major joint replacement or reattachment of lower limb without major complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $31,814.80
• Community Hospital: $37,524.77
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $34,378.06
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $31,441.26
Kidney and urinary tract infections without major complications:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $10,958.25
• Community Hospital: $10,073.53
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $14,433.41
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $11,141.69
Heart pacemaker with a complication:
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $34,939
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $64,094.60
Stroke or bleeding within the skull without a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $12,147.29
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $22,598.36
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $9,385.70
Short term loss of blood flow to the nervous system:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $8,854.87
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $16,546.46
Seizures without a major complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $19,283.85
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $7,573
Blockage of an artery of the lung without a major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $14,768.68
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $23,736.04
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $13,054.44
Permanent heart pacemaker:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $64,094.60
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $34,939
Perc cardiovascular procedure with a drug eluting stent without a major complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $45,519.17
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $34,859.20
Perc cardiovascular procedure with a non-drug eluting stent without a major complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $45,493.55
• Montrose Memorial Hospital:$34,072.92
Heart failure and shock without a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $7,911.91
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $15,955.39
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $7,594.50
Heart arrhythmia and conduction disorders with a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $13,749.77
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $23,247.50
• Montrose Memorial Hospital:$13,753.24
Heart arrhythmia and conduction disorders without a complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $6,109.94
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $11,970.62
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $8,613.79
Fainting and collapse:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $7,344
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $16,640.82
Chest pain:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $5,345.43
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $12,033.37
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $7,877.40
Major small and large bowel procedures with major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $69,319.75
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $105,751.25
Gastrointestinal hemorrhage with complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $20,359.18
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $13,632.23
Gastrointestinal hemorrhage without complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $13,628.12
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $14,011.36
Gastrointestinal obstruction with complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $16,624.83
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $21,347.64
Gastrointestinal obstruction without complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $9,029.35
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $12,163.70
Minimally invasive removal of the gall bladder without complications:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $25,684.89
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $19,444.82
Fractures of the hip and pelvis without complications:
\• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $13,324.25
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $14,299.92
Medical back problems without major complication:
• Delta County Memorial Hospital: $10,025.12
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $18,586.62
Signs and symptoms without complications without major complication:
• St. Mary’s Hospital: $19,006.70
• Montrose Memorial Hospital: $7,925.31
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